Soft Smiles
by NomNomTa
Summary: Sakura X Sasuke One-Shot. An exhausted kunoichi, and a caring shinobi.


Sakura unraveled her pink hair from the small bun on her head, walking out of the hospital with a slouch in her shoulders. Today had been an exhausting and frustrating day, one where the ER had been filled with shinobi from an S-class mission gone wrong. Some were her friends; Team Gai, with Lee suffering the most severe injuries. He wouldn't wake for another few days, while all the medic-nin continued to operate on him. Tsunade, after realizing that Sakura was working a double and was nearing chakra exhaustion, had ordered her home, despite Sakura's retorts.

Sakura wished she could have helped more and was itching to get back in to put forth more chakra into their bodies, but she couldn't deny that she didn't even have enough chakra to attempt it.

She let her eyes rest as she walked, muscle memory taking her home without her having to think about it. Her shoes were scraping against the cobble road as she walked, the sun rising in the horizon to bring some warmth to her skin.

Sakura opened her eyes when she felt this, looking up. The warm glow of the sun shined on the edges of every building, bringing an ethereal look to the quiet village. She sighed, rubbing her temple with her fingers; she was just glad that no one from Team Gai would die this week, especially with Tsunade personally working on them.

She continued her trek across town, allowing herself to relax and try to replenish some chakra.

Her eyes closed, she didn't notice when someone was waiting right outside of her apartment. Suddenly, her head bumped against something hard and warm.

"What the - ?", Sakura couldn't finish the sentence as she realized who was standing there. Sasuke.

She sighed again, not wanting to have to hold a conversation with him and decipher his grunts. He kept his gaze trained on her, noting her slumped posture and the dull look in her jade eyes.

"Please move, Sasuke." Sakura brushed past him to get to her door, "I'm really not in the mood right now."

She felt her gaze on her back as she pushed the key into her door, and her skin prickled. "Who was it?"

Sakura glanced back with dark eyes. _What did he care?_ "Team Gai." She clipped.

His gaze darkened, a slight fold between his brows now. "Hn."

Sakura opened her door, not even bothering to turn on the lights as she walked in. Sasuke strolled in with her, something she had learned to expect. She didn't know why he did it, and she never bothered to ask. She couldn't very well ask him to leave, could she? Sasuke didn't take orders from anyone, so she dealt with his antics without any protest.

She rubbed her eyes as she walked into her kitchen; Sakura _really_ needed to eat something right now, or her body wouldn't be able to regenerate as much chakra overnight. But she was just _so_ tired.

She reached up to grab a bowl from a cabinet when a hand grabbed her arm, stopping her. Sasuke was there again. "Sit." An order, not a request, and she gladly complied, sinking down into one of four chairs at her dining table, facing her small kitchenette as Sasuke prepared something to eat.

Sasuke was being unusually caring tonight, but then again, based off of Naruto's stories, he did this for both his teammates. Sakura wasn't sure how she felt about him anymore, but she couldn't help the twinge in her heart when she noticed him walking down the streets, unaware of her on the other side, or when he left for a lengthy mission, always praying that he'd come back to them. Despite that, Sakura forced herself to act as nonchalant as possible around him, which wasn't that hard since "Fake" was her middle name.

Sasuke glided across the kitchenette smoothly, instinctively knowing where all her materials were. The full-sleeved black shirt hugged his figure as he moved, showing off his hard-earned muscles. He didn't even have to _try_ for anyone to notice him; it was just an automatic response to his shinobi body. He didn't glance at her a single time, but she knew he was aware of all his surroundings, like always.

Feeling safe, Sakura crossed her arms on the table and rested her head, closing her eyes as Sasuke finished making dinner, or breakfast, whichever one it would be considered now. Her breathing regular, she tried her hardest not to fall asleep, thinking of memories long past, her mind going where it always went when she wasn't controlling it; to her failures.

Sasuke leaving her on a park bench, Naruto leaving to study with Jiraiya, all the civilians that had lost their lives under her care, the shinobi that had been injured while working with her. Self-loathing filled her, but it was comfortable, a feeling she was familiar with.

She was beyond being sad now, acceptance was how she dealt with her thoughts, finding that denying her mind, denying what she knew deep down, just caused disappointment later on.

"Sakura." Sasuke gently nudged her elbow, yet stoic at the same time. Sakura groaned before lifting her head, her short locks framing her face perfectly.

Her eyes were dark again, the thoughts from before going back to their little box in the back of her mind after noticing the bowl of ramen in front of her. She looked up at Sasuke, who had been staring at her again, and with a soft smile, said "Thank you."

Sakura dug in, and Sasuke sat down opposite her, quiet as she finished her meal. She felt his gaze on her, but didn't think anything of it. Sasuke was the sort who knew what you were thinking about without you even saying anything. She had no doubt he saw the swirling feelings behind her dark eyes, and she smirked as she wondered if he knew that he was part of it.

When Sakura slurped up the last of the ramen, she got up to wash the bowl, but Sasuke pushed her back down, taking the ceramic and washing it himself. With some energy back, Sakura smiled again; Sasuke could make such a good househusband. She couldn't help but let out a small giggle at the image of Sasuke in an apron, and he glanced back at her, squinting, but with the edges of his mouth tugged upwards.

When he was done, she got up and went to her bedroom, not bothering to take a shower before getting into bed. She needed to sleep, not spend time on her appearance right now. Sakura would be needed as soon as possible, and a shower would just delay that, so she laid down in bed, resting her head against the soft pillow.

Sakura expected Sasuke to leave now, heading out the front door and locking it behind him with the key under her plant, but he didn't. Instead, Sasuke was sitting on the large chair near her window, arms crossed and eyes on her. She looked at him warily, wondering why, before noticing the kunai in his hand. She smiled again, _Trust Sasuke to be paranoid on a normal night in Konoha._

"Sleep." Sasuke ordered, and she couldn't help but let her heavy lids shut, feeling safe and cared for as she snuggled into her blanket some more. The self-loathing didn't even come back, and Sakura understood that this was Sasuke's way of showing his love for her, whether it was as a friend or something more. In this moment, she felt _loved_.

The soft smile stayed on her lips as she drifted off into a deep sleep, knowing that Sasuke would wake her when needed.


End file.
